Wedbush analyst Dan Ives believes the AI boom will charge ahead at full throttle in the back half of 2025.
Trump tariffs and their potential impact on the global economy have sparked concerns of a potential artificial intelligence slowdown in recent months.
However, Ives remains convinced that tariffs will fail at stopping the AI-driven, “once in a generation Industrial Revolution.”
The senior Wedbush analyst now expects the semiconductor market to be worth up to $2.4 trillion by 2040.
A bunch of AI stocks are particularly well-positioned to capitalise on the exploding use cases, launch of new LLMs, and rising enterprise consumption, Ives told clients in his latest research note.
Two names other than Nvidia he recommends owning to play the artificial intelligence revolution are Baidu Inc (NASDAQ: BIDU) and Snowflake Inc (NYSE: SNOW).
Why is Wedbush bullish on Baidu shares?
Wedbush counts Baidu among the top consumer internet names that offer ample exposure to continued momentum in the artificial intelligence market.
Dan Ives remains positive on Baidu stock despite the recently escalating trade tensions between the US and China since “its comprehensive platform offers a robust foundation to develop and deploy these solutions to drive growth and cut costs.”
Note that Baidu rolled out two new AI models in March – one of which it claimed rivals DeepSeek in terms of reasoning capabilities.
Additionally, Baidu shares are currently down some 20% versus their YTD high.
Their valuation metrics also indicates it’s a name worth owning for exposure to the AI trade in 2025.
Other Wall Street analysts agree with Dan Ives’ constructive view on Baidu shares as well, given the consensus rating on the China-based name currently sits at “overweight”.
Why does Ives recommend owning Snowflake stock?
According to Wedbush Securities, Snowflake is another high-quality name that’s worth owning to benefit from continued momentum in the global AI market.
Dan Ives sees SNOW as strongly positioned to build its AI pipeline and enable access to its state-of-the-art tech solutions to countless organizations across several industries.
Note that Snowflake has already started providing “easy-to-use GenAI solutions through Cortex which leverages best-in-class models with fully managed infrastructure” that formed the basis of Ives’ positive view on the cloud stock.
Last week, the NYSE listed firm raised current-quarter guidance for product revenue, citing rising enterprise demand.
Snowflake now expects products revenue to fall between $1.035 billion and $1.040 billion in Q2 – well ahead of its previous outlook for $1.021 billion.
Other Wall Street shops agree with Wedbush’s bullish view on SNOW shares as well. Consensus rating on Snowflake stock currently sits at “overweight”.
Analysts have an average price target of about $221 on the AI stock that represents potential for another 10% gain from current levels.
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